Hollow core panel



Dec. 2, 1958 J. A. COMER 2,862,257

HOLLOW CORE PANEL Filed Oct. 26, 1956 34Vf I k INVENTOR.

13D/ I 402i JOHN A.COMEP C2- 7-T'fL BY 32/ W 44 V A-YTOQMEYS atentedDec. 2, 1958 HOLLOW CORE PANEL John A. Comet, San Lorenzo, Calif.Application October 26,' 1956, Serial No. 618,476

2 Clallms. (Cl. 20-35) The present invention relates to panels, doors,slding partitions, and the like, and more particularly has reference toa panel construction so designed as to effect the connection of a pairof face panel members in laterally spaced relation, through the means ofnovelly designed combined spacer and connecting strips extending alongselected edges of the panel.

The invention has particular reference to Woodl panels. Conventionally,Wood panels of the hollow core type comprise face panel members spacedapart by and of variously designed spacer means, such as wooden spacerstrips.

A door or panel of the Character described is subject, in manyinstances, to warpage, and further, the conventional construction is, ithas been found, somewhat expensive. The spacer means is often of thehoneycomb type, involving the assembly in crossing relation of aplurality of thin wooden spacer strips, and involving, further, the useof adhesives or equivalent means for securing the face panel members toopposite faces of said spacer means.

Still further, a conventional panel of the character described in manyinstances has an unattractive edge, due to the fact that the spacermeans is eXpo-sed at the edge of the panel and may not be of anattractive grain.

In view of the above, the main object of the present invention is toprovide a generally improved panel of the type including laterallyspaced panel members of plywood or the like. In accordance with theinvention, a pair of plywood panel members are spaced apart alongselected edges of the same by metal border strips, which discharge thefunction not only of spacing the panel members, but also of connectingthe same together. The border strips themselves serve to impart anattractive appearance to the panel, particularly at the edges, and atthe same time, hold the panel members against warpage, so that lthe dooror partition will be maintained in a perfectly flat condition throughoutits useful life.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a panel of thecharacter described above that will be so designed as to facilitateassembly of the border strips with the panel members, thus to permitmanufacture of the door in less time 'and with the expenditure of lesslabor than has heretofore been required, thus permitting the overallcost of the door to be lowered.

Another object is to form a panel of the Character stated that will haveborder strips particularly designed to facilitate their assembly withthe face panels by the use of relatively unskilled labor, thusto'further lower the cost of a panel formed in accordance with thepresent invention.

Still another object of importance is to provide a panel of theCharacter stated that will include border strips which not only willserve to space and connect the panels, but in addition will serve asguides slding upon trackways mounted upon a floor or ceiling, so thatsaid border strips are particularly adapted for incorporation in sldingdoors or partitions.

A further object of importance is to provide a panel construction of theCharacter stated that will include side and bottom strips for spacing'and connecting :the panel members, which strips Will be designed to beformed at low cost, in a cross-sectional shape that particularly adapt'sthe same to be extruded, pressed, or otherwise shaped by mass produtionmethods.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claimsappended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like referencecharacters designate like parts throughout the several views, andwherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a panel formed according to thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a transve'rse sectional view therethrough substantially online 2-2 of Figure 1, on an enlarged scale, the dotted lines showing afloor-mounted trackway on which the panel may slide;

Figure 3 is a sectional view on an enla'rged scale, sub stantially online 3-3 of Figure l; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, the scale being reducedbelow that of Figures 2 and 3, showing the supporting of the panel uponthe floor-mounted trackway.

Referring to the drawings in detail, designated generally at 10 is apanel formed according to the present invention. As hereinbefore noted,the panel may be a door, a partition, or any other type of panel, sothat it will betunderstood that the term "panel as used herein will beallinclusive so far as the Various uses of the invention are concerned.

In any event, the panel 10 is illustrated in Figures 2 and 4 as beingslidably supported upon a floor-mounted trackway generally designated12. It will be understood that the construction of the panel is suchthat the panel could be of the hinged door type, rather than a sldingdoor, without departure from the spirit of the invention. However, theconstruction particularly lends itself to use of the panel as a sldingdoor, without necessity of attaching special guides or track members tothe bottom edge of the panel.

The panel includes face panel members 16, 18, which in a preferredembodiment are formed of plywood material, as for example one-quarterinch plywood. At the upper end of the panel, a spacer bar 14, which maybe of Wood material, is interposed between and is cemented or otherwisefixedly secured to the inner surfaces of the panel members. If desired,spacer blocks may be disposed elsewhere over the area of the panel,inwardly from the several edges of the panel, but spacer blocks, woodenspacer strips, or the like need not be provided at the edges of thepanels, due to the provision of the border strip illustrated toparticular advantage in Figures 2 and 3. In the illustrated example ofthe invention, extending the full length of'the opposite side edges ofthe panel are side border strips 20. The cross sectional shape of eachof these is shown to particular advantage in Figure 3. As Will be notedfrom this figure of the drawing, each strip 20 includes a flat web thewidth of which is substantially equal to the distance between the outersurfaces of the face panel members 16, 18. Integrally formed upon theopposite side edges of the web are inwar'dly directed flanges 22, lyingin planes normal to the plane of the web and overlying the outersurfaces of the respective panel members 16, 18.

The flanges 22 extend the full length of the strip as shown to bestadvantage in Figure l, and where said flanges meet corresponding flangesof the bottom strip, they are mitered in a manner to bepresently'described.

Offset inwardly from the flanges 22 are spacer flanges 24. These aresubstantially greater in width than the width of the flanges 22, as bestshown in Figure 3, and on the inner longitudinal edges of the spacerflanges 24 outwardly directed longitudinal lips 26 are integrallyformed,

A bottom strip is provided, which is formed in the' manner shown inFigure 2, and is somewhat different in cross sectional configurationfrom the side strips. The bottom strip includes a spacer web 27 which`is offset inwardly from the bottom edge of the panels 16, 18, theopposite longitudinal edges of web 27 being extended into grooves formedin the confrontng inner surfaces of the panel members, to provide lips28 lockably engaged with the panel members.

Extending downwardly from the web 27 are spacer flanges 30, bearingagainst the inner surfacesiof the' panel members 16, 18. The lowerlongitudinal? edges of the spacer flanges 30 are integrally formedv withoutwardly directed cover flanges 32 overlying thebottom edge surfaces ofthe respective' panel members. tudinal edges of the cover flanges 32 areintegral'with' retaining flanges 34 that correspond to the retaini'ngflanges 22 of the side strips and overlie the outer face's of the panels16, 18.

By reason of this construction, it will be seen that the lower stripspaces the panel members 16, l'ap'art, while connecting the same, in thesame manner as the sidestrips.

I-Iowever, the bottom strip is formed with a downwardly opening groove,due to the inward offsetting of the web 27, for the purpose of receivingguide blocks formedf as part of the track means 12.

It will be noted that 'at the juncture of the side strips floor surface,transverse mounting plates 40 each of which is formed with upwardlyprojecting, spaced guide blocks 42 extending into the downwardly openinggroove or passage of the bottom strip. Medially between theopposite endsof the plate 4G an opening is formed, receivin'g an anchoring screw 44,and of course additional anclioring screws could be provided to securelyand fixredly anchor the plate 40 to the floor surface.

The trackway might take other forms, that shown being merely one exampleof a trackway that could be used to advantage for slidably supportingthe panel formed according to the present invention. The plates liwouldbe spaced apart a distance less than the overall width of the door, suchthat at all times, the door would be sup'- ported on at least two of theblocks 421. A pair of blocks is shown on each plate 40, in theillustrated example, in view of the fact that ordinarily sliding doorsare mounted in pairs, With the doors slidingv in closely spaced Verticalplanes upon side-by-side tracks.

It will be seen that the invention produces certain' advantages, notonly in respect to improving the appearance of the door through theprovision of attractive, metal edges or borders, but also by reason ofthe fact that the door can be manufactured with the use of relativelyunskilled labor, and without the necessity of especially designedhoneycomb spacers or equivalent spacer' means. Further, the necessity ofadhesive connection of the panels to spacer means of the characterdescribed isreduced The outer longimeasurably, since the side and bottomstrips accurately space the panel members 'apart over the full lengthsvof the sides and bottom of the panel members. Further, the metal stripsillustrated can be manufactured at low cost, and in many instances couldbe made by an extrusion process or alternatively, by any of variousother metal Working processes. The metallic strips, in addition, notonly serve to space the panel members apart, but also constitute meansfor connecting the panel members, thus discharging a dual function. Inthe case of the bottom strip, a triple function is discharged, sincethe'bottom strip serves as a guide permitting the slidable mounting ofthe panel upon a trackway.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confinedto the specific use or use thereof described above, since it may beutilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the inventionto be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated anddescribed, since' such construction is only intended to be illustrativeof the principlesof operation and the means presently devisedV to carryout said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehendsany minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scopeof the appendediclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. A panel comprising transversely spaced panel members disposed inparallel planes; a pair of side strips extending along the side edges ofthe panel members; and a bottomV strip extending along the bottom edgeof the panel members, the side and bottom strips being formed with webs,spacer flanges extending from said webs in engagement with theconfronting inner surfaces of the panel members, and retaining flangesspaced outwardly from the spacer flanges and cooperating with the spacerflanges in clampably engaging the respective panel members therebetween,the spacer flanges of the bottom strip extending from the web of thebottom strip in a direction outwardly of the panel members, defining adownwardly opening groove along the bottom of the panel, the spacerflanges of the side strips projecting inwardly of the panel members fromtheir associated webs defining an inwardly opening groove in each of theside strips opening into communication with the space between the panelmembers.

2. A panel including laterally spaced panel members; and combinedspacing and connecting strips extending along selected edges of saidmembers, said strips each including a web extending across the spacebetween the panel members, spacer flanges extending from said web inplanes perpendicular to the plane of the web and bearing against theconfronting inner surfaces of the respective panel members, retainingflanges overlying the outer surfaces of the panel members, and coverflange portions connecting the respective spacer' flanges with theretaining flanges and overlying the edgesurfaces of the panel members,said strips further including 'looking lips extending longitudinally ofthe spacer flanges and embedded in the confronting inner surfaces of therespective panel members, said looking lips being formed upon the edgesof the spacer flanges lemote from said web, the looking lips of bothspacer flanges being disposed in a common pl'ane perpendicular to theplanes of the spacer flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

